Watch: Obama Signs Ryan White Act, Lifts 'Fear'-Based Ban on Travel and Immigration for People with HIV

UPDATED

Earlier today, President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Act and lifted the HIV Travel and Immigration ban.

Said Obama: "Twenty-two years ago, in a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, the United States instituted a travel ban on entry into the country for people living with HIV/AIDS.  Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease -- yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat.  We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic -- yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.  And that's why, on Monday my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year.  Congress and President Bush began this process last year, and they ought to be commended for it.  We are finishing the job.  It's a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives. "

A transcript of Obama's remarks and the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Obama Administration's Inaction Keeps Married Gay Couple Separated

Despite a plea from Senator John Kerry, Attorney General Eric Holder has refused to act in the asylum case of Genesio "Junior" Oliveira, who requested asylum in the U.S. in 2002. In 2005, he was married in Massachusetts to his husband Tim Coco, but the couple have been separated since 2007 when Oliveira was sent back to Brazil after his asylum requests and appeals were denied.

In March, Kerry came to the aid of the couple, who would normally have no problem in this situation. But, because of the Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. does not recognize immigrants who marry U.S. citizens in a same-sex marriage.

Holder's response in this case has been silence, the AP reports:

"Tim Coco said Attorney General Eric Holder did not act on a Friday deadline in the case of Genesio 'Junior' Oliveira, effectively denying the 30-year-old Brazilian man's request for asylum in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. "We needed the Attorney General to make a decision on whether Junior could come home," said Coco, 48, of Haverhill. 'He didn't take this request seriously.' The Justice Department did not immediately return messages...Kerry spokeswoman Brigid O'Rourke said Monday that the senator will continue to work toward a solution that would reunite the couple for good. 'The fact is that if Tim and Junior were a heterosexual married couple, they would never have suffered through more than two years of separation,' said O'Rourke. Coco said he thought there was "no way" the Obama Administration would deny Oliveira's asylum request after Kerry made his plea to Holder.' We are profoundly sad,' said Coco. 'This is more than any married should have to face.'"

Cases like these are why the Uniting American Families Act, which was reintroduced in February, is so important. As well, of course, as the repeal of DOMA which prevents the federal government from recognizing anything other than a heterosexual marriage.

The UAFA has since been added to a larger comprehensive immigration reform bill. Senator Gillibrand spoke about it briefly in answer to a question at her forum over the weekend, and stressed that the immigration reform legislation must be introduced and passed before the Spring.

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U.S. Poised to Lift HIV Travel and Immigration Ban, Finally

It has been more than a year since the U.S. approved the Lantos/Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act (S 2731) which contained a provision lifting a ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by those who are HIV-positive.

Now, it appears the government is finally ready to follow through on that provision, the Miami Herald reports:

"Yesterday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a memo which instructs USCIS officers to place a hold on any green card applications which would otherwise be denied simply due to the applicant’s HIV status.  The hold is pending release of the final HHS rule change which will completely eliminate the ban. The memo signals that the administration is very close to final repeal of the ban, and is now instructing agencies to be ready for the change.  USCIS is clearly expecting guidance from HHS very soon, and has decided to hold applications by HIV-positive applicants rather than deny them, as the new rule will no longer prohibit their entry into the country."

The memo can be viewed here.

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